The "Manny"

Thursday, September 13 2007 | Send to a friend

The "Manny"

Andrea Nakayama and Gilbert

Andrea Nakayama always imagined her 30s would be the time in her life when everything would fall perfectly into place. And indeed, everything had - at least for a while. She had a successful career, was married to the love of her life, Isamu, and was ecstatic when she learned she was pregnant. But just weeks into Andrea's pregnancy, Isamu developed an excruciating headache. They couldn't have imagined what the doctors would soon tell them: that Isamu had stage 4 brain cancer. Isamu defied the odds long enough to see their son, Gilbert, born. But Isamu had become so sick that he couldn't care for himself, let alone their child.

Matthew Dickman

Andrea and Isamu turned to a nanny named Matthew Dickman, who ended up being much more than a babysitter for Gilbert. Matthew became a friend to Isamu, as well as a pillar of stability for Andrea as she tried to care for both her growing child and dying husband. In the end, Matthew became part of the family.

Dick talks with Andrea and Matthew about their friendship.

• Read Andrea's essay "In His Memory" in a book of essays on mothers and nannies
• Read the poems that Matthew recited on the program here